Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Back in March of this year, the Federal budget came out, and much to people's shock and dismay, it was made known that the Special Diet money would be cut from ODSP & OW. Ironically this came upon the heels of a human rights case where the verdict for the plaintiff (people who had lost their special diet) stated that all people on ODSP and OW need their rates raised significantly. Did the government take heed?! No! Instead they completely ignored this monumental statement. Not only that, but they told us they were making these cuts so they could reduce the deficit.

If we didn't know already what liars they were, we sure found out during the G20. They spent 1 billion on the summit without a single thought as to how hypocritical this action seemed to be! It was a slap on the face to the poor people of Ontario. In that one act of hideous extravagance, our government was, in fact, saying: “We don't care about the poor people of this country. We don't care if they live below the poverty line and have to choose between food and rent. What's important to us is to spend this enormous amount of money on 1) security and turning Toronto into a police state, and 2) hosting this non-sanctioned summit that excludes all but the richest world leaders.”

They think we are afraid of their power and brute strength. We are not! We don't forget and we don't forgive! With the utmost determination, we will not rest until the Special Diet is returned to us so that we can buy good food, stay healthy, and pay our rent! Nor will we stop fighting to get a 40% increase so that we can finally live above the poverty line!

Recently, our government spent 9 billion dollars on fighter jets and one hundred million dollars on war ships. This is truly disgusting! We need to make them see that money should be spent on providing a better environment in which people can live and thrive. The government shouldn't be trying ti think up new ways to destroying life; they should, instead, focus upon bettering the quality of life!

They promised to reduce poverty, but instead they are increasing it. They promised to close down all abusive institutions, but many still remain open. By 2025, they promised that Ontario would become what they consider to be fully accessible. Too little too late, I say!

Over and over, we must remind our government of its many promises, and we must hold them to their word. Only until then can we take back our power and dignity. Only then can the paths to our own lives be self-determined.